The 27 national landscapes of Finland represent the special environmental and cultural features of the country. National landscapes have great symbolic value and widely recognised significance in cultural and historical terms, or in the popular image of nature. The areas were selected by a national landscape working group of the Ministry of the Environment. The selection was part of Finland’s 75 years of independence celebrations in 1992.

National landscapes have no fixed boundaries, which means they do not have a special role, legal or otherwise, in land use planning. However, national landscapes are immensely important for tourism, for example. Many of the landscapes are unique attractions and any changes to them are kept to a minimum.

The core of the Vanajavesi valley national landscape area is Lake Vanajavesi with its bays, rocky islands and capes. The rich cultural heritage is an important part of the national landscape. The area has been continuously inhabited and cultivated from the prehistoric times until today, which has shaped the landscape: the traditional land use with the various field and meadow patterns and dwellings can still be seen in the area.

Already in the late 19th century, Aulankovuori Hill was a popular place for excursions. People used to climb up the hill in large groups, bringing picnic baskets with them. Already at that time there was a wooden lookout pavilion at the top of the hill. These days, Aulankovuori Hill is dominated by a granite lookout tower that is 33 meters tall and was built in 1906-1907. The tower that is reminiscent of old castle towers was designed by the architect Waldemar Aspelin. From the lookout tower, you can enjoy a breath-taking view of the valley of Lake Vanajavesi.

Logging task:

To log this cache you must climb to the lower level of lookout tower in given coordinates and find the backdoor of the tower. Then send the number you can find on the door to the cache owner via message center. You don't have to wait that the cache owner replies that the code is right until you can log but if you haven't send the right code cache owner may delete your log. You can also Climb up to tower to see the national landscape in it's full beauty. The tower is open from May until autumn every day from 8am until 7pm. If you want you can add pictures of the national landscape to your log

This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.

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